Northern California

The Specialist Squeeze: How to Fix the Shortage of Doctors in the Rural North

California’s rural north has significantly worse health care access than the rest of the state.

The barriers to treatment are even higher when residents try to access care from specialist physicians. When patients or families experience difficulties accessing needed medical care, it multiplies existing social needs, increasing patients’ risk of things like substance use, housing uncertainty and domestic violence.

Success story: Humboldt County Juvenile Hall

I liked this student the first time I met him. He was rowdy, he cursed, he broke rules with wild abandon, he was a pain in the neck for a lot of the teachers…He hated school… He told me that he thought he would grow up to be just like his brothers. Everyone else seemed to agree with him. His brothers are all in prison for gang-related activities.
He was soon locked up in his room for misbehavior. Instead of behaving so he could return to the classroom, he refused to do any work, and continued to tag his papers with gang writing. I was told this was typical for this student. I knew that he could work hard, he just wasn’t motivated. On a whim, I wrote him a letter in his cell.

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